1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to the field of transaction processing methods and apparatus. More particularly, the present invention relates to methods and apparatus for issuing and processing gift certificates which may be issued and redeemed in conjunction with credit card accounts.
2. Description of the Related Art
Businesses and consumers have employed a variety of transaction processing methods and apparatus to facilitate commerce while preventing fraud. In particular, credit card issuers facilitate hundreds of billions of dollars of purchases every year by allowing customers to conveniently pay for purchases utilizing their account services. For these services, the credit card issuers receive transaction fees from the merchants, as well as interest payments on all outstanding balances and annual fees from customers. In an effort to generate more revenues, many credit card issuers have developed marketing programs to encourage card holders to make more purchases with their credit cards.
In addition, the existence and use of store-type or specific-use gift certificates have proven transaction processing benefits. Typically, such gift certificates are issued by a store in pre-defined face value amounts. The consumer pays for the gift certificate in advance and then gives the certificate to a recipient who later redeems the certificate. A significant disadvantage associated with traditional gift certificates, however is that since the certificates are prepaid, the card holder pays for the certificates even if they are subsequently lost or never used. Further, there is presently no way to verify the authenticity of such gift certificates, making them prone to fraudulent duplication or alteration.
Some shopping malls offer mall-wide gift certificates which can be used at any store in a particular mall. Typically, these certificates are standard commercial checks with the mall checking account number printed thereon. Usually, any store in the mall accepts the gift certificate because it can be deposited in the same manner as a personal check. Typically, the mall takes the money from customers and places it in a checking account to "back-up" or cover the gift certificate check. These certificates, however, have the disadvantage of being easy to fraudulently duplicate.
Credit card companies have developed marketing programs that incorporate many of the features of gift certificates as described above. General Electric Company's GE Rewards Visa Credit Card program, for example, allows a credit card customer to automatically receive a five dollar rebate certificate for a specified volume of charges. The rebate certificates are automatically included in the credit card customer's monthly billing statement in the form of laser-printed vouchers. Although the rebate certificates are bearer instruments, making them easily redeemable, they may only be redeemed at the specific merchant or franchise printed on the face of the rebate certificate, reducing the redemption options of the recipient. Additionally, because there is no online verification of authenticity, the rebate certificates are vulnerable to counterfeit fraud.
To provide greater access to funds to card holders and to promote account activity, some credit card issuers offer convenience checks to their customers. These checks carry indicia directly linking the check to a customer's credit card account and can be used by the card holder as payment in the same manner as conventional personal checks. One difference between convenience checks and personal checks is that the former are treated as cash advances against a card holder's available credit line, instead of being deducted from money on deposit in a checking account. Large numbers of convenience checks are regularly mailed by banks and card issuers as way to promote additional consumer charge volume, encouraging consumers to build up credit card balances. Moreover, convenience checks are also used to encourage card holders to pay off other credit cards they might hold, thereby, effectively transferring the balance. Because there is no online authentication process, however, these checks are subject to the same fraud problems as conventional checks and gift certificates.
With losses from check fraud now exceeding ten billion dollars per year, many merchants are only willing to accept a personal check if the check is accompanied by photo identification as well as a major credit card to prevent fraud. For this reason, convenience checks are not well suited as gift items since a recipient's name cannot be pre-printed on the check. Additionally, card holders with balances near their credit line may be reluctant to make further purchases after giving out convenience checks to recipients, thereby defeating the purpose of incenting charge volume. Convenience checks returned to the issuer for clearing might result in the card holder's account exceeding the established limit if the card holder had made additional purchases.
Some credit card companies have offered other limited-use programs combining credit cards with gift certificates, such as the AMERICAN EXPRESS GIFT CHECK program and the AMERICAN EXPRESS "BE MY GUEST" program. The AMERICAN EXPRESS GIFT CHECK program allowed card holders to purchase pre-paid "gift checks" in certain specified denominations by either paying for them in cash or by charging them to their AMERICAN EXPRESS account. Once paid for and provided to a card holder, the gift check could be given to a recipient who may redeem the gift check at a merchant. Because the gift checks are processed in the same manner as traveler's checks, the recipient can only redeem such checks wherever AMERICAN EXPRESS traveler's checks are accepted, reducing the utility of the checks. Additionally, gift checks stolen in the mail may be fraudulently redeemed.
The AMERICAN EXPRESS "BE MY GUEST" program used a variable-value gift certificate known as a "BE MY GUEST" certificate. This gift certificate entitled a recipient, for example, to a meal at a participating restaurant at a card holder's expense. The certificate is accompanied by an AMERICAN EXPRESS charge slip in which the gift amount and card holder's credit card account number are already recorded. The card holder obtains the certificate from AMERICAN EXPRESS by requesting the same, and is charged the full designated value when the certificate is used or presented to a participating restaurant. The conventional credit card clearing process provides online authentication of the certificate. Minimal fraud prevention is provided in that a user presenting falsified duplicate certificates will eventually be denied service since the card holder's credit limit will eventually be exceeded. However, although losses to restaurants are potentially capped at the credit limit of the card holder, the card holder and card issuer still may experience substantial losses. In addition, attempts to fraudulently alter the amount of the certificate may not be detected, thereby allowing for more casual fraud. There are also significant security problems associated with the use of the certificates since the recipient can see the credit card account holder's AMERICAN EXPRESS account number. The recipient or an unscrupulous third party may receive the certificate, write down the account number, use the certificate, and then use the card number for purchases made over the Internet or by telephone.
Accordingly, it would be advantageous to provide an improved method and apparatus for issuing, redeeming and authorizing gift certificates that overcomes the shortcomings associated with the related art. The present invention addresses such problems by providing an apparatus and processing approach that have not previously been proposed.